OLYMPIA (WA) -- The battle between muscle and motor is revving up in the backcountry as the Legislature considers whether to shift funding for maintaining off-road trails and facilities. Hikers, mountain bikers and other non-motorized recreational users are fighting for a greater share of state fuel-tax money and could get it under House Bill 1698.



That's set off a firestorm among those who prefer exploring the backcountry on trail motorcycles, three-wheelers or dune buggies.



"This bill tries to move funding into the areas that generate it and need it -- hiking trails, campgrounds, bicycle trails, and cross-country ski trails," said Rep. Mike Cooper, D-Edmonds, the bill's sponsor and chairman of the House committee that heard the bill last week.



...In the early 1970s, legislators set aside the tax paid on gasoline consumed while driving to the backcountry or using a dirt bike off road to put toward those activities. One percent of state gasoline tax revenue now supports "Non-Highway and Off-Road Vehicle Activities."



Currently, the motorized users receive 80 percent of NOVA money. The remaining 20 percent is available to hikers, horseback riders or mountain bikers. ... The bill comes on the heels of a Legislature-funded study that examined who was consuming gasoline in the state's back roads. The last such study was done in 1973, and the hiker groups have pushed for a new study because they believe that hikers and mountain bikers were also using the roads to get to trailheads.



...The survey was sent to about 7,250 vehicle owners and found that 20 percent of the 25.6 million gallons consumed on off roads was associated with four-wheel drives, motorbikes and other motorized activities. Another 30 percent was for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and cross-country skiing...."